Looking for unpaid volunteering job/internship as a Linux admin

[Grant M.]

Matej Cepl wrote:
> My questions:
> 
> 1) of course, What do you think about this idea? Is he right?
No, he's not right. Systems Administration/Engineering _is_ a
complicated job. If you're not up to varying levels of frustration,
potentially long hours, and mediocre pay to start, then yes, you should
set your sights elsewhere. If however, you _are_ willing to work hard,
have a knack for solving complex problems, have an attention to detail
and enjoy a challenge, it is definitely the job for you. I and my fellow
sysadmins/engineers pride ourselves on our diverse skillsets, and often
know more detail about a problem than the vendors of the
equipment/software. There is definitely a huge feeling of satisfaction
to being able to resolve an issue that noone else even has a clue on.

> 2) Any suggestions on how to find such internships/volunteer job?

The problem with Linux is that (in general - no flames please) in many
markets it still has somewhat of a reputation of being a
less-than-enterprise OS, so that's your first hurdle - finding the right
companies to target. It is used in some markets quite extensively
(biotech, engineering, data centers, e-anything, education), and is
continuing to make inroads into other markets. There is also a real need
for skilled admins for Linux, as evidenced by Oracle's recent
announcement to begin supporting RedHat directly.

I would pick a target market that you think you might find interesting,
or that you have some level of experience in that you can point-out in
your resume. This will help you stand out from other potential
candidates. Find the companies involved in that market and send them a
resume whether they are looking for help or not. If you do get an
interview, go into it with enthusiasm and an understanding that the
company may only be looking to exploit you. The exploitation is
unimportant, the important point being experience for your resume.

Also, if you get _any_ job, regardless of how good, use your time there
to learn _useful_ skills, even if it means doing them on your own time.
Make sure that the company is aware of what you are doing so that it
counts towards your experience there, and if called as a reference, your
boss will be able to speak to it. One very important Linux/Unix skill is
integration into homogenous environs (ActiveDirectory/OpenDirectory,
Samba, Appletalk, etc). These sorts of skills allow you to shoehorn
yourself into other aspects of Systems Administration, and make you
marketable to pretty much anyone even considering Linux.

> Logistical update: First of all, I have to re-emphasize that my work permitt
> expired on June 30 (it may be interesting to somebody), and that I plan to
> leave USA for good (or at least to the next radical change in my life ;-))
> on September 10.

If you're not stuck on being in the USA, take a look at devzerog.com.
They develop applications for the print and advertising markets, and
employ people all over Europe. They seem to be a pretty decent company
if that's the sort of thing you're interested in.

Good Luck,
Grant M.
-- 
Grant Mongardi
Systems Engineer
NAPC

gmongardi at napc.com
http://www.napc.com/
781.894.3114 phone
781.894.3997 fax

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